INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - The man accused in the shooting death of Southport Police Officer Lt. Aaron Allan is waiting to learn if his own life will be in the balance.
Marion County Sheriff’s deputies escorted Jason Brown to court for a hearing Monday morning on the prosecutor’s request for the death penalty. Brown kept his head down as the deputies escorted him to court.
Superior Criminal Court Judge Sheila Carlisle heard the formal motion filed by prosecutors asking for a death penalty trial. If granted, the death penalty trial would happen if Brown is found guilty during his murder trial. A jury would have the responsibility of deciding if he should receive a death sentence.
Monday morning's hearing lasted only a few minutes.
"The judge just pretty much advised him of the filing that the state made, read it to him. He already knew about it and that was pretty much it," said Brown's attorney Denise Turner said.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced last week he would seek a capital punishment. Curry believes there are enough aggravating circumstances to warrant the death penalty.
Court documents filed by Curry’s office say when Lt. Allan tried to rescue Brown from his overturned car, Brown opened fire on the Southport officer.
Brown's family attended the hearing, seeing him for the first time since the shooting.
“I am trying to get my client and his family through it,” said Turner.
After the hearing, the judge ordered Brown returned immediately to the Department of Correction for safety reasons.
Eyewitness News asked his attorney why Brown remained so subdued in court.
"That's a tough question. That's hard to describe. He has never been in any kind of trouble before," Turner said.
Turner also expressed sympathy for the Allan family in the wake of his death as a police officer and public servant. She is working to put together a defense team to help her defend Brown.
One of Lt. Allan's relatives who has purposely stayed away from news cameras told Eyewitness News she alone would rather Brown serve a life sentence than the death penalty.
The murder trial for Brown is scheduled for the early part of next year. Both prosecutors and his defense attorney expect that date to get pushed back much further due the death penalty request now being officially part of the case.
Brown is likely to remain in protective custody at the Indiana Department of Correction throughout his pre-trial and trial for murder.